STS-51L - TDRS-B - TRW

Submitted by liem on Sun, 04/14/2013 - 21:26

TDRS-B was launched in the payload bay of Challenger, attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS). It was to have been deployed from the Shuttle in low Earth orbit. The IUS would have then performed two burns to raise the satellite into a geosynchronous orbit. On the previous TDRS launch, TDRS-1, the IUS second stage motor malfunctioned following the first stage burn, resulting in a loss of control, and delivery of the satellite into an incorrect orbit.

TDRS-B was originally scheduled for launch on STS-12 in March 1984, however it was delayed and the flight cancelled following the IUS failure on TDRS-1. It was later re-manifested on STS-51E, however this too was cancelled due to concerns over the reliability of the IUS. It was eventually assigned to STS-51L, which was to also carry the SPARTAN-Halley astronomy satellite.

STS-51L launched with TDRS-B at 16:38 GMT on 28 January 1986. The Shuttle disintegrated 73 seconds after launch due to an o-ring failure in one of the Solid Rocket Boosters, killing the seven astronauts aboard.